Swapo pays tribute to ‘fearless’ Ngatjizeko
About 100 Swapo members gathered at the residence of former Cabinet minister and liberation struggle icon Immanuel Ngatjizeko on Monday to pay their last respects. Ngatjizeko died on 5 March at a local hospital. He was 69.
Many speakers on the night described the late Ngatjizeko as an astute politician, who dedicated his life to the service of the republic.
Within the Swapo circles, it is generally held that he completed his life journey “with flying colours”.
The memorial was characterised by a sombre mood, with most speakers seemingly struggling to come to terms with the news that the towering yet gentle figure of Ngatjizeko was no more.
Silas Emvula, who shared trenches with Ngatjizeko, said while many never got to taste the fruits of independence, they found solace in the fact that their efforts were never rooted in self-gratification.
Another speaker on the night was Swapo lawmaker Lucia Witbooi, who was first introduced to Ngatjizeko in the late 70s while he was executing sophisticated mobilisation visits to sell the Swapo dream for Namibia in the South.
Witbooi said the former trade minister played a pivotal role in the establishment of private schools in Gibeon and Hoachanas through the Churches Council of Namibia (CCN).
“As a finance person, he was very confident about securing funding from members. He served with integrity and dedication as [Swapo] finance secretary and today, we are building our office with our own money,” she said.
She then went into a celebratory hymn in her vernacular which translated to: “The man (Ngatjizeko) swallowed the bullets of the white man.
He served without a break. Stood the test of time. Please don’t take the name Immanuel with you.”
In his remarks, veteran teacher Moses Tjipirua Omeb said Ngatjizeko inculcated the values of respecting the next man.
“He was a highly principled and straightforward person,” Omeb fondly reminisced.
For Maureen Hinda-Mbuende, another legislator, Swapo must hold onto Ngatjizeko’s qualities in charting the next chapter of the former liberation movement.
“He was an independent thinker, consistent and a reconciler. Integrity meant everything to him. The next leadership [of Swapo] must have high moral ground,” Hinda-Mbuende said.
Swapo spokesperson Hilma-Nicanor said Ngatjizeko has left a huge void, one that is difficult to fill.
Meanwhile, Hilifa Mbako, who worked closely with Ngatjizeko at CCN, was pained at how Ngatjizeko’s generation and those who went through similar circumstances are perishing one by one, in successive fashion.
“Maybe something was administered to them while in detention because if you look at the pattern of their deaths (it is questionable). Every time they were taken from us (by the Boers for questioning), they never returned the same,” Mbako said.
Ngatjizeko will be buried at his home village, Otjohorongo, in Erongo on Saturday.